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We sort of saw a reaver in the show- it was a guy whose ship got attacked, who the reavers forced to watch everything. He mutilated his face because he couldn't handle it. Much more low-key than the reavers in the movie, but then he'd only been at it for an hour or two.
AND spoilers. You know the drill.
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As
in
I'm
going
to
name
who
died, which I don't think anybody's done yet
While I love Wash as a character- the episode where he and Mal run afoul of Niska is one of my favorites- and I didn't enjoy the fact that he died, I have lots of respect for filmmakers killing off major characters. Plus it was well-timed, coming as it did during the collective sigh-of-relief at the end of a hugely chaotic and stressful scene. I liked its abruptness, and the fact that immediately afterwards the crew is plunged into a nearly hopeless situation. From Wash's death onward, I had a very real feeling that all bets were off and nobody was safe, even as I realized that Whedon probably wasn't going to kill off any more major characters if he ever wanted to make a sequel. That feeling of danger was enough that when River went off to do her thing, I had a pretty intense feeling that she was actually going to her death. Again, even as the rational me was going 'no way.' It made for a pretty emotional climax, and I was nagged with worry for her until it cut back to her kicking ass, which made that scene all the more satisfying. (Though, when the blast doors finally opened again, I did get a funny image of River doing whatever it was she had to do to open them, then running back and striking her pose.) In any case, I thought that whole sequence after Wash died was extremely well done, especially on an emotional level. Corny speeches aside.
Lots of great moments in this too- the running gag with the grenades was funny, and I got an absolutely ear-splitting grin when I realized just how Mal planned to get past the Alliance blockade to Mr Universe's equipment. That first tracking shot through Serenity was fantastic as well.
Things did feel a little bit rushed- it seemed pretty obvious that the basic plot with River was something designed originally to play out over a long time, and didn't quite fit with the feel of the show– but for all that, I loved it.
Oh yeah- the guy who played the assassin (was he ever named? I don't think so)- he was excellent. Very good at playing the single-minded zealot, and his default expression was this really creepy almost-smile that was fucking unsettling. |
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